Lessons in Love: Part 1
by vthalfmann
Summary: An old enemy rises from the grave. The team members succumb into situations of inescapable romance. Granville discovers that this force is a ghost from her past with one of the strangest agendas ever. Wasabi falls victim to the most diabolical trap ever conceived in fiction. It is up to Go Go to rally the team in a desperate effort that is doomed to fail.


Big Hero 6: Lessons in Love

_This work involves both the movie, the first, and part of the second season of the cartoons. Nothing else should be considered canon. This is about romance - very special relationships between some very special people. Like any work of fiction, there is a lot of misdirection. Writing is a special genre. It is not at all what you would expect from a movie or a cartoon or a comic book._

Chapter I

The Gathering Storm

"I would like to borrow Baymax for a day or two." Professor Granville said.

The four of them were working in the lab and Fred was just hanging out.

"I will also need temporary root access to his programming. It has come to my attention that Tadashi's medical protocols are lacking a few fine details that I would like to tweak. Here is the code."

She handed Hiro a tablet and watched as his young eyes scanned the screen with all of the efficiency of an optimizing compiler.

"What is this?" He said, quizzically. "How does it work? When does it kick in?"

"All in good time, Mister Hamada. Let's just say that there are certain complex medical situations that Tadashi failed to anticipate. During your down time, you are free to fix your attention on mundane personal matters. Point one: I understand that Karmi has released the next chapter in her fan fiction. I suggest that you mine it for ideas - she seems to have a lot of them. Point two: I notice a bit of stubble growing on your face. It is called puberty, Mister Hamada, and must be attended to. I insist that our students be clean shaven and presentable."

Hiro scratched absentmindedly at his chin. "After all of this time..." he mused, "...I still can't believe that Karmi doesn't recognize me."

"Two problems, Mister Hamada. I suggest that you apply Occam's Razor to one and a conventional razor to the other. Come along, Baymax. We have some adjustments to make."

She had barely left the room when Wasabi said: "Occam's Razor. I know that one. Given two competing theories, the simplest one is usually correct."

He glanced worriedly at Hiro. "Hiro? What's wrong, man? You're hyperventilating."

"She knows!" Hiro managed to gasp out, eyes wide. "That's the simplest answer. Karmi has known all along!"

_Pop!_

The popping of Go-Go's gum always drew attention to her if only for a moment. This time, she capitalized on it. "Well..._duh!_"

The look that she gave him was one of pure pity,

"Hiro, you're wearing a barely tinted face plate that exposes almost your entire face. It might work from a distance, but not close up. You'll notice that Karmi always ends up getting very close."

"Why?" He said. "Why the fan fiction? Why would she..." He let the sentence die.

"Basically," Go Go chuckled, "because she is just as much of a maladjusted geek as you are. Except that she is slightly older and - as a girl - a whole lot more mature."

She paused a moment to let the concept sink in. "This is your chance, lover boy. The brave and confident Captain Cutie can say things to Karmi that the shy and insecure Hiro Hamada never could. And vice versa. Wine her! Dine her! Sweep her off her feet. Lay it on thick. She will love it! It's like Cosplay, only with higher stakes. Have some fun with it!"

Hiro squirmed uncomfortably. "But..what...if she really doesn't know?"

Go Go shrugged. "So what? What difference does it make? Maybe it will shake things loose. Honestly, the rest of us are drowning in hormones when the two of you are in the same room. Back me up on this, Fred. Give him some manly advice on how to talk to girls."

Fred looked startled, blushed, and looked away. "Wha- Who? Me...?"

"_Exactly_! Good job, Fred. That is precisely how you don't want to come across."

_Pop!_ "

Look, Captain Cutie basically lives inside of a space suit. It's both a physical and psychological barrier. So stop acting like you are going to catch cooties from her."

Hiro was, as usual, over analyzing the situation. "Then...she really likes me?" He sounded genuinely amazed.

The other three could not but help notice the stupid grin on his face. "But...she can be so _mean!_"

_Pop!_

"Women get that way then they are immature or you make them wait too long. Don't let it throw you off your game. It's not that hard. Just think of what Fred would do in the same situation and do the exact opposite. Heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune, wears a fire-breathing lizard costume, and he still can't talk to girls."

"Harsh!" Fred muttered, face flushed and trying not to meet her gaze.

"A girl could drop a thousand hints!" Go Go continued, archly. "Tease him! Humiliate him! Practically throw herself at him and he would be just too dumb to get it!"

There was a definite undertone of frustration in her voice. "Whatever you do, Hiro, _don't...be...like...Fred!_"

Go Go seemed to be glaring at the boy.

"Way, super harsh!" Fred was looking everywhere except at Go Go.

"Anyway..." She grunted, "...stop moping and definitely don't look to me for advice. Listen to your heart. I think it knows what it's doing."

She got up, stretched languidly, and sauntered casually out. Wasabi was gaping open-mouthed, and could have sworn that she gave her more than ample posterior a playful wiggle as she walked to the door.

She had barely left the room when Wasabi turned to Fred and said: "_Dude!_ I'm not exactly sure what that was...but I think she likes you.

"Fred?" He said, a moment later, "Stay with me, buddy. You're hyperventilating!"

#

Hiro was almost afraid that he would never see Karmi in the field again. Strangely enough, time after time, she kept showing up. It was as if some unseen force was drawing her in. It was nothing that she was trying to do - but circumstances always seemed to tip in that direction. Hiro took Go Go's advice and was glad that he had. It did not hurt that he secretly idolized the girl. Well, maybe not so secretly, since everyone seemed to know about it. He was enjoying himself. It got to the point that she was almost swooning - practically fawning and crawling all over Captain Cutie - and that is something that no 14 year old boy could possibly turn down. The other Karmi, the one at school, just kept getting meaner and more spiteful by the day. She was positively cruel!

In the back of his mind, Hiro was becoming mildly alarmed. He thought about Karmi at school. He thought about her at home. She was on his mind every night when he went to bed. And yet he was secretly so afraid of her. So afraid of what was happening to him.

Even if Captain Cutie was acting, Hiro was not. He managed to get himself assigned as Karmi's lab partner for a bio-mechanical project. Surprisingly, over mild protests, she agreed.

They met after school to collaborate. Baymax was, as always, tagging along for the ride. They put some discrete distance between themselves and began discussing the project. As always, he was impressed by her raw intelligence. She was so smart! Her ideas about the biological aspects of the project seemed to exactly complement his hardware and programming skills. As the project started to take shape, the two began to relax. She moved a bit closer to him and he moved closer to her, until they were talking animatedly face to face.

Hiro had just looked down to consult his notes. He looked back up and found himself in the single most terrifying position of his young life. Not all of the monsters and fiends and super villains of the world could be quite as fear inspiring as this. Karmi had closed her eyes, turned toward him, and pursed her lips.

His body went numb and he began to instinctively recoil.

"DON'T!" He almost jumped out of his skin. He knew that cold, precise voice.

"YOU." The voice continued a moment later. He was not hearing it - it was somehow coming from inside of his own head.

"DARE!" The voice concluded, firmly. It was so shocking that he completely forgot to be afraid.

He looked back toward Karmi and took a deep breath. _What the heck!_ He said silently to himself, tilted his head slightly to the side to avoid bumping noses with her, and pressed his lips firmly to hers.

There was very little conversation for quite some time as the situation continued to develop.

Then, without warning, Baymax very nearly broke the mood when his gentle voice chimed in: "Granville emergency protocol Xanadu is now in effect. Warning: this protocol is mandatory for all parties involved."

There was a soft click and small compartment on the right side of his balloon-like chest popped open. It was directly opposite his modular programming port. A small tray slid out and clicked into place. Hiro was faintly puzzled by the fact that he had never noticed it before. Could this be something that Professor Granville had installed?

It was an ephemeral thought, dying a quiet death before the weight of more pressing matters. The two managed to ignore him for exactly thirty seconds when...

"Warning: this protocol is mandatory for all parties involved. If necessary, physical intervention is highly recommended."

"Can't you shut him up?" Karmi growled, breathlessly, momentarily disentangling herself and drawing back slightly.

"Baymax," Hiro's adolescent voice squeaked and broke. He cleared his throat and continued, "Stand down!"

The gentle voice simply repeated: "Warning: this protocol is mandatory for all parties involved. Physical intervention is highly recommended."

"Just a second!"

iro reluctantly managed to peel himself off of Karmi. It was the hardest thing that he had ever done. He was only half dressed and almost stumbled over his pants as he lurched over to Baymax.

"What is it that Granville thinks is so important!"

He hurried over, glanced hastily into the exposed compartment, reached in with a hand that was shaking with excitement, and removed a small packet. "

What is this...condoms?"

Karmi let out a choked laugh that turned into an to uncontrollable giggle.

"Good old mother hen...always looking out for us! Now..._Captain Cutie_..." she grinned, beckoning him back to her, possessively, "...where were we?"

Chapter II

Feasting on Darkness: The Night of the Creepy Stalker of Doom!

Cherry Blossom park was much better maintained than it had been some twenty odd years ago. Grace Granville wondered once again what she had bothered coming here at twilight as instructed in the mysteriously untraceable email. Could the sender somehow know what this place meant to her? The thought was highly disturbing. So much so that she knew that she had to do this or it would haunt her forever. She walked carefully down a dimly lit path. In front of a quiet pond, two park benches were carefully arranged back to back. One facing the pond - the other facing away. As instructed, she took a seat in the one facing the pond and quietly waited.

She felt rather than heard the unseen presence that sat down on the opposite side. For just an instant, something brushed the back of her head, so gently that it did little more than caress the follicles of her hair. The wait seemed to stretch forever before the odd voice softly spoke. It was prim, precise, almost effeminate, and completely bone chilling.

"Occam's Razor. How quaint. It reminds me of why I had such a crush on you."

A hot thrill of panic welled up inside of her and was immediately quenched by a tidal wave of guilt and remorse. She recognized that voice. It was exactly the voice that she had expected. Exactly the voice that she had come to dread.

"I heard that you were dead." She tried desperately to keep her voice cold and distant.

"I almost was. That annoying robot lingered far longer than I expected. But enough about me. I understand that you have been interfering in the personal lives of your students. Not very professional of you."

"I am not the only one who interfered in their lives."

"Touché. Still, it is nice to see that some things never change. What is it that they say? We are not so different, you and I."

"Did you come here to spout villain clichés? Or shall we get down to business?" "

Well...business, of course. Very serious business. I am worried about you, Professor. So prim and proper and detached. Not a very rewarding way to live. You seem to have avoided all human attachments for the past twenty years. Tell me, what is bothering you? Feeling guilty about something?"

The cold knot in her stomach threatened to make her choke. She did not even try to speak.

"There is no reason to. What is past is past. It is time to move on. I had hoped that your encounter with my lovely associate would have made an impression on you, but I see that you are a tougher nut to crack."

He could only be referring to her one disastrous adventure as a full member of Big Hero 6. "

Yes, they said that she was one of yours. Bob, she's terrifying!"

"Isn't she, though. Any woman worth the effort always is. Tell me, my dear, use that marvelous brain of yours and tell me what else she is?"

Granville thought for a moment and the obvious conclusion almost surprised her.

Well..." she said, haltingly, "...harmless, of course. She has an almost supernatural control over her own body and those deadly blades. She could reduce a human being to hamburger in a matter of seconds if she chose to do so. But in all of her encounters with Big Hero 6, she never so much as drew a single drop of blood."

"And that means..." The voice gently prompted.

"_Oh...my...God!_ You are a fraud! How could I not have seen it! Look at the henchmen that you surrounded yourself with. An animatronic burger bot with laser eyes that are obviously programmed to not target anything even remotely human. I'll wager that the android girl was just as carefully constructed. And an insecure, mutated glob monster so meek that he would never hurt a fly."

He actually had the temerity to do the villainous slow clap.

"Brav-oh."

"But why, Bob? Why are you doing this?"

"Payback, my dear Professor. There is a debt that must be paid. I am simply returning the gift that you so graciously imparted to me."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Doesn't it? Or are you still in denial of the obvious?"

"I mean..." Her mind whirled desperately. Suddenly, so many things were starting to make sense. "Your final master plan. Recreate the great catastrophe. Wipe the slate clean and rebuild that city as a society molded in your image. It is like a one dimensional scenario right out of a bad movie. How could anyone possibly take it seriously?"

"You always said that I was brilliant, but not particularly creative."

"You knew that Hiro would find a way to stop it. But how, Bob? How could you know? At all of those times...you must have had some contingency plan in case the boy came up short."

"Did I? Well...perhaps I did and perhaps I did not. I certainly tested him often enough to ensure that he was up to the challenge."

She desperately needed time to think. Suddenly, her entire world was turning upside down.

"What plans do you have for the boy now that he has..." Granville was worried. She struggled to find the right word for it, "...graduated?"

"For Hiro? Not much. Except to leave him in your capable hands. You planted the seed and now it must be nurtured and tended to. The boy needs time to grow. Time to connect with others and form lasting relationships. After all..."

Even though she knew that he was physically incapable of it, she could almost picture a crocodile smile.

"We wouldn't want him to turn out like me."

She shivered, suddenly feeling the cold, clammy breeze that precedes full darkness. Try as she might, she simply could not keep ever voice level.

"Yes...I suppose we can agree on that much. We definitely do not want him to turn out like you."

There was a brief silence. A soft, electroluminescent green reflection formed in the water in from of her and then slowly died away. The ripples made it seem so very fragile. Like a ghostly flower dying beneath the moon.

"Hiro is nothing more than a young man that I knew reminded you so much of me. You see, I am coming for you, my dear Professor Granville. Don't bother trying to escape. There is no where that you can run that I cannot follow. There is no where that you can hide where I cannot find you. First your students will fall, one by one, but you...you I am saving for last. You will be my Magnum Opus. You will be my completion. There is a debt and it must be paid."

"Bob, this is madness!"

"Not really. I have madness aplenty. Living with a mind so damaged that only cybernetic implants can allow me to function at all. The pleasure centers of my brain ruined to the point that I cannot feel any real emotion at all. Pain, triumph, love, sex - none of these mean anything to me any more. There was only one thing that I ever remembered caring about and you, my dear, were it."

The voice remained as cold and emotionless as a robot.

"You were my one true love and I never even got the courage to to ask you to dance. Well, now we are going to dance. It is going to be long and slow and I am going to enjoy every minute of it."

There was something both seductive and romantic and horrifying about that voice. It was threatening to drive her mad.

"Bob...I..." She stammered and almost sobbed. "How can you do this?" She was ashamed of the pleading tone of her voice. "What are you?"

"I am so glad that you finally asked. I am sure that you have heard of the pathology of the serial killer. Call me a serial...thriller. Someone who - unable to experience love or excitement or fear - must forever vicariously feed off of the emotions and experiences of others.

"I am the predator and you, my dear, are the prey. I am going to make you happy, Professor, if it is the last thing that I do...and I don't care how many people I have to hurt in the process."

She felt his unseen presence stand up. "Remember those flowers that I gave you on our last day together? I picked them at this very park. That bush, just across the pond. Enjoy the still of the night. For tomorrow, the game continues."

She sat for a very long time after that. Stoic at first, but finally, after she knew that he was long gone, she broke down and began to sob softly. So much guilt. So much remorse. So much to...regret.

Chapter III

Anxiety and Awakening

"Slow day." Wasabi said. "Just two low priority problems. A couple of people are trapped inside a subway car. My plasma blades should cut them out. Plus, there is a chemical spill downtown. Honey Lemon should be able to neutralize it. Fred can help burn up what remains." "

That's good." Hiro said. "But Honey Lemon and I have study hall together. Professor Granville insists."

"That's okay, Hiro." Go Go said. "Honey Lemon, lend me your purse. Fred and I will go."

Go Go and Fred took Wasabi's car. Go Go was driving as usual. She was used to sitting through his usual inane monologue about comic books and super heroes. He would make some interesting points and she would shut him down with cutting and sarcastic remarks.

_No - not today._

She had made a horrible mistake by letting her true feelings peek through. Her and Fred's relationship was ruined and their was nothing that could be done to repair it. There was no moving backward, there was only moving forward. Things had gotten increasingly awkward between them and it was time to clear the air. He had been quiet for far too long.

"Say something - _damn you!_"

"Huh?" Fred said.

"Say something stupid! Make me laugh! _Talk!_"

"I...uhhhhhh..."

Her grip on the wheel seemed to be unusually tight.

"Look..." her voice softened, and she bit her lower lip, "...this situation between Hiro and Karmi...it got me thinking. Fred, how long have we known each other?"

"Long time, I guess." He sounded almost suspicious.

"Do you have any idea how long I have been sending out signals? Do you have any idea how long you have been sending them back? Almost from the very beginning!"

She didn't have to look at him to know that he had that pathetically confused look on his face. It was almost his trademark.

"You are always poking at me. Always prodding at me. Always teasing me. Looking for some excuse to touch me. Like a child. Well...we are not children any more.

"We went to the same school." She said, "Attended many of the same classes. We used to hang out together. True, we did not travel in the same social circles. Truth be told, I never even knew you were rich until recently - that is when everything changed." "What's wrong with being rich?" "Nothing. I am actually surprised that I never noticed. You can't hide that kind of thing. There were a thousand clues, but I just did not pick up on them. I just didn't care. In some ways, I can be as dumb as you are."

She kept her eyes firmly on the road. She knew that if she looked at his face, her courage would fail.

"The point is that I was attracted to you before I knew you had money. Now that I do, if we ever got together, people would think that I did it for that reason. Now it's too late. Don't you see? I thought you would eventually grow up. I thought you were so sweet and I had all the time in the world.

"Our lives have been wasted! Protecting the city from villainy is your comic book world - and I don't mind that. I actually like it. But I need someone in my world as well. My world is different."

"Oh...I get it...you are some kind of space ali-"

"_STOP IT!_" She almost screamed, dangerously close to crying. "Just..._STOP IT!_ You are _NOT THAT DUMB!_ Be serious for once! Pretend to really listen to me. I don't always want just to be entertained by you.

"Think, Fred...what were we? Back at the very beginning?"

"Well..." Fred said. He looked worried but was beginning to relax. "We were buddies."

"We are NOT buddies!" Her teeth gnashed and her lips pursed and her hands gripped the wheel so ferociously that he was afraid she was going to tear it off. "I don't even _like_ you!"

"Wait...you don't like me?" He sounded totally devastated.

"_God dammit!_" She exploded. "No, Fred, I don't like you! _Damn!_ This is not how I wanted this conversation to go. That's it - I am done with this!"

She slammed on the brakes, lurching sideways, tires squealing, and almost rolled the car over before pulling over to the side of the road.

"Go Go?" Fred said. His face was totally white. "What's wrong?"

"We are going to clean up that spill and then we are NOT going back to school. We are going back to your place - no mommies, no daddies, no Heathcliffe, no comic books. We are going to have this out!"

"Wait...are...you going to beat me up?"

"If I have to. You are sooooo stupid!" Her eyes welled visibly with frustrated tears. "You are a stupid, immature, crazy little goof ball!"

"Oh...kaaayyyy..."

"We have a job to do. Then we are going back to your place and I am going to rake you over the coals, little man! After that we are going back to the team and be friends again."

"Wait...I thought you said you didn't like me."

She visibly composed herself and glanced over her shoulder to see if traffic was clear.

"I'll show you what I like." She said, ferociously. "I am done with waiting and too tired to care what other people think. I am going to open myself up to you, Fred, and _I am going to rock your world!_ You and I are going to be friends..."

She firmly concluded: "...with benefits."

They finished the job. As she drove back to Fred's house, Go Go was stone cold and silent. He kept looking at her and she kept ignoring him. Fred was getting more nervous and scared by the moment. At the mansion, he took her immediately to the one room room that he knew would be private – his bedroom. For some reason, this did not seem to phase her. She just walked stiffly to the middle of the room, turned her back to him, crossed her arms, and waited.

Fred came up behind her. "Go Go?" He said. She ignored him. Her body language was so tight, and closed off, and hostile, that it was driving Fred crazy. For some reason, his whole body began to shake uncontrollably.

"Go Go?" Stony silence.

Fred's lower lip was quivering. "Go Go?" There was a pleading quality to his voice.

"Go Go...say something to me...insult me...hurt me...please..."

His voice was cracking with emotion.

"Go Go!" He said desperately – he could not stand it any longer - and broke down. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I made you wait so long – I don't know how to handle this!"

He couldn't help it. He put his arms around her from behind, buried his face on her shoulder, and began to sob.

Although Fred could not see it, Go Go was trying desperately to look back at him from from the corner of her eyes.

"_Got you!_" She whispered, under her breath.

She reached up into her mouth, firmly took out her gum, rolled it expertly into a ball, and flicked it off in a random direction. Then, using the palm of her hand, she pushed his face off of her shoulder and turned around. She grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at her.

"All right, Fred." She said, softly and dangerously. "Let me show you how to handle it..."

Chapter IV

Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together

_Sushi and Wasabi - it doesn't get much better than that!_

The room was dimly lit and the air was stuffy and smelled strongly of dust. He had to actively suppress the urge to sneeze. He had been going somewhere? Something about a subway car, but his foggy brain refused to say what. His body armor was gone. He did not know where it could have disappeared to.

"Someone needs to clean this place up." He muttered to himself and tried to stand up, only to discover that his arms and legs were pinioned to a very low table, almost a foot off of the ground.

His nose itched. He twitched it a few times and finally could not hold it back.

_Achoo!_

"Bless you." The voice emanated from the shadows and a figure stepped forth.

There stood Momakase. Instead of her usual stylish body suit, she wore a vest and a short skirt made from a familiar-looking material. It had an incongruously country-western feel to it. A cowboy hat would not have been out of place. The weird thing was that - as far as he could tell - she was not wearing any underclothes at all.

"I think I mentioned how much you are improving with those plasma blades of yours." She spoke in her impossibly sexy, high class British accent. "I so admire a man who is skilled with knives. Still, you are just a boy, and there is much to teach you in so many areas."

Wasabi noticed that his mouth was open. He was trying to speak, but was at a loss for words.

Momakase must have noticed his futile attempt at banter.

"Pay attention, darling. Have you ever seen those tired old action movies where the hero must race the clock to defuse a bomb before the bus or train or airplane falls above or below a certain threshold? Well...this is something like that. Only much, much more fun!"

Her voice had lowered to a playful, feral purr. "Remember that cage that I trapped you all in on Akuma Island? I have your friends trapped in one exactly like it. Except this time, your pudgy robot friend is not there to help. Instead, he has been replaced by a rather large explosive device.

"Have you noticed those leads attached to your forehead? They are wired to an electroencephalograph that is programmed to remotely detonate the bomb. In other words, when you explode with pleasure, it will explode in a much more violent fashion."

She walked daintily over until she stood over, straddling him, one foot on each side.

"Do you like my outfit?"

She ran her hands down her body, starting at chest level and then to the hips, tilting her hips to one side and pursing her lips seductively.

"It is made of corduroy." Her eyes flicked toward his waistline. "There, that seems to have gotten a rise out of you. Let's see if we can do better."

"Wha—waaaaaaat...are...you...doing?" He managed to stammer, helplessly.

His eyes almost popped out of his head as she expertly lowered herself into a squatting position and then sat down directly onto his crotch. She gave her athletic rump a playful jiggle, flexing a few times. Even through his clothes, he could feel a warm, inviting sensation. Wasabi took a deep, shuddering breath. His body was responding exactly as one would expect.

"My...you are a big boy, aren't you? Tell me, darling, do you love them? Cute little Hiro and that oafish Frederickson boy? What about that Go Go girl? Does she remind you of someone? Just a little? Then there is poor, innocent little Honey Lemon. All of them are depending on you. Do you have the will power to do what it takes to save them?"

"I...uh...ahhhhhhh..."

"Such a well built lad. Tell me...do you work out?"

He almost responded. "

No!" She pressed a superbly manicured finger over his lips, nail almost touching his nose. "It is a rhetorical question, darling. I don't really care."

She reached down under the bottom of his shirt and peeled it upward. Holding it with one hand, she reached over to the side and returned with one of her shimmering graphene blades. In one deft motion, she used it to slit the tee shirt in two. Then she placed the blade aside and placed both palms, face down, on his pectoral muscles. Her palms felt impossibly warm.

"Ummm." She purred. "Such a lovely one. A good sushi chef cannot help but admire a handsome cut of meat. A pity that boys like you tend to be so physically imposing that no one dares to approach them. Especially, smart boys like you. This is going to be your first time, isn't it?"

"Epr! Epr-eep!"

He tried to speak, but no recognizable words came out.

"Well...let's get started." She peeled off her vest and tossed it aside. Her body was spare and superbly muscled - her breasts impossibly pert.

"They are your only friends, little Wasabi, and I am going to take them from from you. Your body is going to betray you, and after that, it is going to belong to me. I am going to own your very soul – it is going to be mine to do with as I please. You will never escape from me, my darling. You will be mine forever!"

A kind of terror awakened inside of Wasabi that was far worse than any that he had ever known.

Each of their faces flashed before him in his mind's eye. Hiro: who always seemed to know how to get them out of a tight spot. Fred: who always knew how to make them laugh. Poor, damaged Go Go. Worst of all, there was sweet and innocent Honey Lemon who had not even begun to live. He was going to fail them! He was going to let them down! Try as he might - this was a contest that he was destined to lose!

#

When Professor Granville brought Wasabi in, they almost did not recognize him. He was shivering and - when he saw them - he broke into tears and began to blubber uncontrollably. It took him several minutes to calm down and start to explain.

"Bomb?" Hiro said, confused, "What bomb? Honey Lemon and I were both in class - we told you that."

"She...she lied to me!" Wasabi wailed, snuffling, "I feel so violated! That woman is pure evil!"

"Wait a minute..." Go Go said, "...she had you tied up. But you never exactly explained what she did to you."

"I...don't want to talk about it!" He was shivering at the mere thought of it. "It...was..._horrible!_"

For some reason, his words did not seem to match the look on his face.

Professor Granville quietly cleared her throat.

"This is all my fault." She said, her voice heavy with tragedy, "All of it. Everything!"

"Your fault?" Hiro said. "How is any of this your fault?"

She explained carefully and completely about the evening in the park and tried not to take note of the dawning comprehension on their fresh, young faces. After what seemed like forever, she finally finished.

"So...he is...what?" Fred said, confused. "Some kind of...evil...theme park operator? This is so off script from any comic book that I have ever read."

"It makes sense." _Pop!_ Go Go sounded almost bored. "Everything that we have gone through for the past semester makes much more sense when you view it through that lens."

"But..." Fred said, "...what is he? A super villain? A super weirdo? I don't get this guy."

"I...don't believe it!" Hiro said, barely listening. "All that time...he was just playing us. The adrenaline! The excitement of being superheros. He was feeding off of us! Leading us into dangerous situations so that he could feel...something...anything... "

The fact that he exposed himself to Granville must mean that he is getting bored. He is ready to up his game...but to what?"

The sick feeling in the pit of his stomach told the whole story. To a 10 year old boy there was nothing more exciting than being a superhero. But to a 14 year old boy...

_The voice!_ He whispered to himself.

_Pop!_

"I'm not sure what he is either," Go Go sounded almost disinterested, "but he is definitely a voyeuristic pervert of the most sick and twisted sort."

Hiro thought feverishly. That voice had intervened at exactly the right moment. If it had not, things might have gone very differently. Wasabi, Hiro decided, was not the only one who had been violated.

"Okay..." he said, thoughtfully, "...they got you, Wasabi. For reasons that I am...not prepared to discuss...I think I am off of the table. That leaves the three of you."

Fred started to open his mouth.

Go Go cut him off. "Don't you _DARE!_" She hissed, warningly, "Say one word and I swear that I will _rip it off!_"

Fred instinctively locked his knees tightly together. "Yes, ma'am."

Fred ducked his head, stared at her wide-eyed, and made a zipping motion across his lips. "Zip-zip - not a word!"

She glared poisonously at him for a long moment, then said: "Let's say - just for the sake of argument - that Fred and I are out of play as well. That leaves..."

They all turned to stare at Honey Lemon.

"What?" She said, innocently.

"Honey Lemon..." Go Go said, carefully. "You are in very real..."

She paused. Something wasn't right. "You are in real..." She tried again and could not finish the sentence.

"Emotional." Fred helpfully supplied. Sometimes he could be remarkably perceptive. "Emotional danger! That's what it is. She is in real _emotional_ danger."

Honey Lemon seemed to contract fearfully, both fists to her chin, both elbows pressed together in front of her, looking very cute and vulnerable.

They could all feel it. Honey Lemon was the sweet little sister of the team and everyone was very protective of her.

Wasabi stopped looking hurt and moved closer to her. He stretched out a massive arm and placed it protectively over her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Honey Lemon. No one's going to get you while I am around!"

Almost instinctively, she leaned over and rested the side of her head against his massive upper arm. She immediately looked like she felt better.

#

"Tell me, my dear," Obake said, "Did you enjoy that?"

Momakase's grin was Cheshire.

"He is pretty. He is well built. He is clean. He is polite. He smells good. He is disarmingly secure in his manhood. What more could a girl want? But he is inexperienced. It ended before we were barely even started. I need to toy for him for a while in order to get him up to snuff. A not altogether unpleasant task."

"Yes...I think that can be arranged. Things are progressing exactly on schedule. You gave him a taste of honey, but you wounded his pride. You hurt him in exactly the right way. Now he is naturally going to seek out a girl who is sweet and innocent and who he believes would never ever hurt him. So predictable."

Momakase could not help but be impressed.

"I give him the motivation and you supply the damsel in distress. The rest is just waiting for nature to take its course. Just remember our bargain!"

She looked at him severely and demanded: "When are you going to perform the operation?"

"Have patience, my dear. I lack the surgical skill and there is no way that I am going to trust that marvelous brain of yours to anything as clumsy as a mere robot. We need considerable financial resources."

"_Then get them!_" She sounded both angry and desperate. "Don't disappoint me! I want to be there - riding along - when that young girl is deflowered for the very first time - not by a clumsy amateur like Hamada or Frederickson - women deserve better than that - but by a loving, caring man of taste and sophistication.

"Besides, I actually like the boy. He is a very warm and genuine person. I have had sex with him - now I want to make _love_ to him. I want this, Bob. I..._NEED_...THIS!"

She sounded more angry and desperate than Obake could remember.

"My," he said, "how the missed opportunities of our youth come back to haunt us. I hope you know that there is a price to be paid for everything. Your life will never be the same. You are not only going share their experiences, but you are going to have a very special bond with me. Far more intimate than any puerile arrangement like a marriage could possibly be."

"Are you afraid that you are taking my innocence?" Momakase said, bitterly. "You can have it! It never brought me anything but pain."

There was a slight pause before she said: "Do you know what I like most about you, Obake?" The calm, robotic face just stared. "Deep down you are as appalled by Big Hero 6 as I am. Five intelligent, virile young people banding together to fight crime - wasting their youth - in a purely platonic relationship. How unbelievable is that? It makes me sick just thinking about it! They need help and guidance from older, more experienced intellects. We don't want them to make the same mistakes that we did. What do you say to that? Tell me how you feel."

Obake, never one to feel much of anything, simply said: "Very well then...it is time to begin our quest for material wealth."

#

The ensuing crime spree rocked the city and Big Hero 6 seemed to be powerless to stop it. Until one day there was a summons.

Granville and Honey Lemon arrived at the police station and checked in in at the lobby. There seemed to be an unusual number of uniformed officers milling about, chatting and snickering. One of them escorted them into an interrogation room.

There was poor Wasabi, huddled in a chair, looking very worn and tired. His clothes were in tatters and most of his well-muscled upper body was exposed. A uniformed male officer held a police report and his female Sargent stood nearby.

"The boy wandered in here at 8:00 AM this morning. It seems that we have a - _ahem_ \- "

He consulted the paperwork and read: "A female serial rapist. At approximately 6:30 PM last night, the victim was ambushed on the way home from school. The perpetrator was identified as one Momakase who is well known to the police. She is 34 years old, approximately 5 foot, 8 inches tall and 120 pounds. She..."

He paused and continued slowly, "...overpowered the lad..." he glanced over at the heavily muscled Wasabi, "...using Japanese wrestling techniques and dragged him off to an underground sex farm where they..."

His voice trailed off. "Sarge?" He said pleadingly, "I can't read this...there are ladies present..."

"Oh, don't be squeamish." The female Sargent said. "Give it here. Let's see now...ambushed the suspect - yada, yada - dragged him off - yada, yada - and then they..."

Her eyes widened and all of the blood drained out of her face.

"Professor Granville! Is this some kind of school prank?"

"_Yes!_" Granville said, quickly. "Of course it is!"

She gave out a forced laugh, "You know these gifted young people and their wild imaginations. Looks like an all night study group that got out of hand. No reason to bother the boy's parents. Come, Honey Lemon, help me get him back to the car."

Once back at the school, they sat the clearly exhausted Wasabi down and got him some tea.

"She did it again!" He sobbed, and his voice squeaked. "

Poor Wasabi." Honey Lemon said, and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "What did she do this time?"

"It was worse...the rubber...the leather...the feathers...over and over again...those devices...I feel like I will never be clean! And the scariest part was..."

He broke down completely.

"_I really, really liked it!_"

Chapter V

The Mother of Invention

Two days later, they all answered an urgent summons to the lab. There they found Wasabi, glowing with pride.

"Let me show you all my latest invention." Wasabi said.

He held up a pole. Dangling from the end looked like a pair of lacy panties.

"Is that..." Fred said, admiringly, "...women's underwear?"

"Not just any underwear. E-lectric underwear!"

Wasabi held up a pole and moved it close. Once it got within an inch, there was a loud crack and spark shot between the pole and the fabric. The air reeked of ozone.

"Don't worry, it is completely insulated on the inside. I figure we can put the poison needles right about here..."

"_Wasabi!_" Honey Lemon said, alarmed.

"No needles? Not even little ones? See I got the idea from...well...see...there was this training device...well...never mind where I got the idea from.

"Look, just go and try them on. I made them in your size. If you want, I can help you-"

"It's okay, Wasabi." Honey Lemon said, making shushing motions with her hands. "I can manage by myself."

"I have some really good ideas about a matching bra." Wasabi said as she shuffled embarrassedly off.

"I'm thinking tungsten micro-barbs that can rip the skin on contact - that will teach them respect!"

He looked at Professor Granville who was glaring at him.

"No barbs? Maybe a mini, spring loaded flechette launcher?"

"Things are getting out of hand, Wasabi!" She said, sternly.

"You don't understand, Professor. You don't know what they can do to her! We can't let that happen to precious little Honey Lemon! We just can't!"

"If we continue to let you experiment on her," Granville said, "then you are going to do the job for them."

Honey Lemon was standing by the door, shyly holding the diabolical device out in front of her gingerly by her finger tips.

"If not that, then what?" Wasabi asked. "Fred, do you know any comic book way of dealing with this?"

Fred was stumped. "This is way out of bounds for any comic book that I have ever read."

"How about impotency gas?" Go Go said, helpfully. "I have been talking to Karmi. She uses a dilute form of it on Hiro. You know, to make him last longer."

"That's a great idea!" Wasabi said. "We can use a capacitive touch sensor to release it on contact."

"No gas!" Granville said, sternly, wagging a finger. "No poison spikes. No electric underwear!"

"Okay, Professor." Wasabi said, grudgingly, "But from now on, she stays near either me or Go Go at all times! I mean it, Honey Lemon. I will escort you home from school myself. You and Go Go need to get...well...maybe a vicious attack dog or some sort of mutated animal thingie - maybe Karmi can help us out."

"Settle down, Wasabi." Granville said. "I think you are in danger of becoming obsessed."

"Okay..." he said, meekly, "...so...maybe she should escort _me_ home?"

"_Wasabi!_" Granville sounded suspicious. "Is there something that you are not telling us?"

Wasabi looked down guiltily. "It happened again last night. I didn't tell anyone. That woman is so filthy and dirty and vile but...I think I love her..."

"_WASABI!_" Granville was outraged. "Don't confuse carnal passion with something like love! You are much too old not to know the difference. You are nothing to this woman. You are just-"

_Pop!_

"Okay," Go Go cut in. "I'll say it. You are just her _fuck toy!_ That is what you wanted to say, Professor, isn't it?"

"Well..." Granville huffed, "...not in exactly _those_ words..."

"Yes, I understand, professor." Wasabi said. "It's just that I get the feeling that we are heading into some kind of life changing catastrophe and maybe things are never going to be the same."

"Change can be good, Wasabi. We all change as we age."

"Not you." He observed, innocently. "You never change, Professor Granville."

"That is different! I am an adult! I have no reason to change." She said it confidently, but it rang hollow even to her.

What did she have to look forward to tonight? Another night of grading papers and pampering her pet cat. Television and reading books. Maybe the theater with friends. Was she really living...or just going through the motions?

#

The knock on the door was so soft that Professor Granville barely heard it.

"Come in...Wasabi...good to see you! You look tired. Don't tell me that it happened again last night. How many nights has it been? I have lost count! Why won't that horrible woman leave you alone?" "

That's not it, Professor." He said, looking concerned. "The problem is...that it didn't happen last night."

"I am not sure that I follow you. How is that a bad thing?"

"I...I was looking forward to a good night's sleep and...I had this...dream..."

"Wasabi! We have school counselors for that. Perhaps a therapist-"

"No...see...it began with Honey Lemon and I in our Big Hero 6 costumes. We were walking down this street toward some kind of trouble. Suddenly, Honey's phone rang. She picked it up and it was dead. So I checked my phone and it was dead too. Our comm buds were dead.

"We got scared and ducked into an alley. They were coming for Honey Lemon - we just _knew_ it! All of the sudden our costumes were gone and we were in regular clothes. So we hid somewhere...I think it was behind a dumpster. Anyway, I put my arms around her - I wasn't going to give her up without a fight! I could feel her heart beat. I could smell her perfume. Honey has this very distinctive perfume. I was looking around for the bad guys when suddenly..."

He paused.

"The perfume changed. It was rank and sour but I recognized it. It made me want to vomit. I looked down and Honey Lemon was gone."

"Let me guess..." Professor Granville said, in growing horror, "...it was Momakase."

"Yes! She reached behind my head and grabbed my hair and forced it down. She put her lips to my ear and said a single word..."

Granville, against her will, was sitting on the edge of her seat.

"Go on, Wasabi, what did she say?"

"_Boo!_" Wasabi said.

"Boo? Just...boo?"

"Yes. Then I woke up sweating."

"A common nightmare." Granville said, dismissively. "Nothing to worry about."

"The thing is, Professor...that is..." He looked ashamed. "...it wasn't just sweat."

Granville felt herself go cold. "Wasabi...you had a wet dream?"

"I never had one of those before. The thing is...almost the entire dream was not about Momakase, and that part was unpleasant. Most of it was about..."

"Honey Lemon." Granville whispered. That dreadful feeling in the pit of her stomach was becoming very familiar.

"Oh, my." She exhaled deeply. "Things are getting complicated!"

Chapter VI

The Obvious Solution?

The face of the man behind the transparent prison cell lit up when Granville walked in.

"Professor! I heard that you had taken my old job! It could not have fallen to a worthier person!"

It took a few moments to size him up. He was the same as before: his world-weary, expressive face looked very raw and human.

"Hiro told me that you apologized on many occasions for what you did. That you only did it because of your daughter."

"I would do anything for her." His face saddened.

She continued to size him up for several seconds, then came to decision.

"I have a very serious problem that I think you can help with. How would you like to make a deal?"

"Make a deal? What kind of deal?"

"Let's say that I used my influence to get you released from this awful place - if only for short periods - so that you could be with your daughter."

"I would do anything!"

They were old friends, so he added: "Who do you want me to kill?"

Granville cracked a smile. "No one. I just want you to - or at least pretend to - make me happy."

This startled him. He though about it long and hard. Gazed for a few moments into her handsome face, then said: "Professor...it would be an honor!"

#

Honey Lemon stayed with Wasabi in the quad. She saw him in class. She rode to and from school in his car. If she wanted to go out for lunch, he was there. If she wanted to see a movie, he was there.

Finally, she said: "Really, Wasabi, you don't have to stay so close to me."

"But I have to, Honey! They want you. Momakase mentioned something about that. They have something special planned for you. You know, because you are a virgin."

"Is that what you think?" She said, exasperatedly. "Why is that so important? What if I was to tell you that ship had already sailed."

"_Noooooooooooo!_"

"Do you think less of me?"

Wasabi looked crestfallen. "No - of course not!" But his face told a different story.

"Please don't tell anyone." Honey Lemon blushed. "Look...I am going into the ladies room - don't try to follow me."

#

It was Friday night and they all met at Fred's house as per Go Go's mysterious instructions. There were the expected pleasantries with Fred's family, after which she instructed him to invite them all to a 'sleep over.' It said a lot that no one in the family even batted an eye at the thought of a coeducational sleep over. They all knew Fred and they trusted him implicitly.

Go Go waited patiently until they were all alone. She looked unusually serious, even for her.

"Big Hero 6 has survived a lot of tough situations. But I am going to ask something very demanding from all of you. Far harder than anything that you have ever done."

They all looked grave and attentive.

"We are used to depending on Hiro to lead us out of tight spots. But we are facing a situation unlike any that we have ever faced. It is going to require a completely different kind of brain power to think our way out of this."

She paused.

"I don't talk much - so people tend to confide in me. For example, Hiro has been very discrete, but Karmi and I have been talking for a long time. I have her version of what went on between you two."

Hiro blushed and looked away.

"I know that Obake is trying to get into our heads," Go Go continued. "and I actually think we have a chance of beating him and saving Honey Lemon's innocence. But to do that you have to trust me. I need data - much more data than I have been getting so far. I need your side of the story, Hiro." "

What do you mean?" He said, shyly, "You said you talked to Karmi."

"Her version is not going to be the same as yours. By the way, remind me later, I have some pointers to pass along. I digress...

"I know what happened between Fred and I, and I think we out foxed Obake on that one - because that was my plan and not his. Granville was very open about what happened in the park because nothing personally embarrassing did happen. I trust you, Hiro, to tell the truth as you see it. Try not to be too shy. But I am worried about you, Wasabi. If I am going to get the complete picture, then I need to know exactly what happened to you on each occasion with Momakase. I need to know everything! What she looked like. What she smelled like. What she tasted like. What she was wearing. What she said. How many times did you climax? How much gizz? Where did it end up? What did it feel like? Get the picture?"

Wasabi moaned and looked like he was going to melt right into the floor.

"No judgment," she said, with surprising gentleness, "this is nothing but crime fighting business. We have a very special bond, the five of us, and I know it can survive this - I just know it!"

She turned to the robot. "Baymax, I need you to record this. I might have to go over it a couple of times. Now...is everyone ready?"

Wasabi looked terrified. Honey Lemon, although scared, huddled close to him. Hiro was trying hard to look like an adult. Baymax was, of course, Baymax.

"This is it, boys." She said, grimly. "The moment of truth..."

"_Talk dirty to me_!"

#

Momakase awakened early to an urgent summons.

"What is it?" She demanded. "Can't it wait for breakfast."

"There is problem." Obake said. "I am so used to foiling Hiro's technical wizardry that I have ignored a much more pressing danger.

"There is a side effect to my methods. In certain people, they can unlock dormant areas of the target brain. In this case, there is a person close to Big Hero 6 who has as much untapped emotional intelligence as he has physical intelligence. They are in danger of catching on. We are going to have to accelerate our plans."

He paused. He was as fond of Momakase as he could be of anyone, and he had a complement to offer. The truth was, his methods were stimulating a great many brains in a variety of unpredictable ways. There was great beauty inside of these people that was just waiting to be unleashed.

"By the way, I think that you are right about that Go Go girl. She is very much like you..."

#

It was late in the night before the boys finally finished. They were all staring at the pale Wasabi almost fearfully. Go Go finally broke the awkward silence that followed.

"It might seem crazy, but the key to unraveling this mess lies in the concept of romance."

"Romance?" Wasabi said. "Nothing that woman did to me was even close to romantic!"

"That's because you were not the target." Go Go said, firmly.

"Look at you two!" Almost instinctively, Wasabi and Honey Lemon were huddling together, clutching at each other. "He is writing you like a bad novel! Pushing you together. Giving you no choice but to be intimate with one another. Then he is somehow going to get off when you do."

"So..." Hiro said, "...how do we stop him?"

"The key to getting to this guy is to get inside his head just like he got inside of ours. He used to work alone, but not anymore. His mistake is that he invited someone in. Someone that is special to him."

"Granville?" Honey Lemon said. "That is so sweet!"

"Not Granville," Go Go frowned. "Granville is old news. He has a new love interest. She means the world to him, and that makes her his weakness. Now, no more individual showboating. We need to put our collective heads together and come up with a plan."

She looked over at Hiro. "That means Karmi, too. She is just as much involved in this as any of us."

It was Fred who proposed the obvious solution.

"Sleep-over time! Tomorrow night! Just let me talk to Heathcliffe. Next time there is going to be popcorn. A whole lot of popcorn!"

#

Unfortunately, Karmi was completely out of the loop in a whole lot of ways. There were a series of long questions and answers before Baymax was able to play most of the recording of their previous sleep-over. It took until late in the evening for him to finish.

Afterward, Karmi sat in shocked silence.

"That was..._ahem_..." Go Go said, somewhat breathlessly. She had secretly enjoyed it the second time around, "...was very...educational. I know I learned a few things. Quite a few that I am hoping to forget."

The other two girls nodded vigorously.

"Okay...the key to stopping Obake is Momakase, and the key to Momakase is, obviously, Wasabi. He is the only thing that she has shown consistent interest in. We can use him to draw her out."

Karmi had started sitting next to Hiro. As Wasabi's tale unfolded, she moved further away.

"I can think of an excellent example of how you should act. Just act like Captain Cutie! Hiro did a very good job! He was..." She began to gravitate closer to him, "_Dreamy!_"

Hiro blushed and looked away, but his mind was inwardly in turmoil. It was not what she said, it was how she said it. As if there were multiple layers of hidden meaning that were beyond him.

"A biased answer," Go Go grinned, "but I agree. Don't act exactly like Captain Cutie. That would be too obvious. Put your own spin on it. Give it some of that old Wasabi charm."

"Act like Captain Cutie." Wasabi repeated, "But put a little Wasabi on it. I think I can do that."

Honey Lemon looked troubled.

"It's just play acting, Honey Lemon. It's not real."

None of them heard it, but she mumbled under her breath: "It had better not be!"

"When Momakase comes to get Wasabi," Karmi said, unexpectedly, "I want in. I am practically part of the team now."

Everyone looked at Hiro.

He knew what they all expected him to say. Karmi was obviously ready for it. A bit of the old, stubborn Karmi was showing through on her face. She was looking for a fight. "

Sure." Hiro said. Everyone stared at him in surprise - even Karmi.

"If..." Hiro continued.

"If what?" Karmi demanded.

"If you explain about this little on-line chat room you seem to have with Go Go all of the sudden. You two both impress me as very closed off people. I have never seen you say two words to each other before. Why are you suddenly talking about me behind my back? And what are these 'pointers' that Go Go is supposed to pass along?"

Both girls looked uncomfortable.

"Okay, okay," Karmi said. "I will not come. What I say to Go Go stays between her and me. That is girl talk. It is none of your business."

"It's a deal. My detective instincts must finally be kicking in - because I have the strong feeling that there is more than one diabolical mastermind lurking in the shadows and pulling strings."

He glanced over at Go Go. "_You!_" He said, accusingly, "Have changed! I have never known you to be so assertive before - you suddenly seem so..._open!_ There is a lot that has been bothering me about this situation and it cannot be explained entirely by Obake.

"How you, Karmi, kept showing up to be saved by Captain Cutie at places where only the team members knew that they were going to be. How Go Go was so certain that you had seen through my disguise.

"I don't know what happened between Go Go and Fred, but I get the feeling that it was a long time coming. For some reason, Fred has stopped obsessing over comic books all of the sudden - the only thing that he seems to obsess over, Go Go, is you. And - don't deny it - I just saw you crack a smile!

"Believe it or not, I have a lot of sympathy for poor Bob Aken. I identify with him. I can see him enjoying the situation with Momakase and Wasabi from Wasabi's viewpoint. That was a very..."

His next words surprised even him: "...a very _male_ perspective. But this was different. There was a much more powerful force at work."

He was about to use a curse word. It was the lowest and most vile word that a 14 year old boy could possibly utter. He was going to do it! He did not care! He was going to say it loudly, proudly, and with all of his heart.

"Karmi..." The room had gone dead silent. Everyone - even Fred - was staring at him and holding their breath. Off to one side, Granville sniffed, eyes brimming with tears.

"_I love you!_"

Karmi tried to shut her face down and feign disinterest, but her eyes were twinkling and wet.

They never did get to taste the popcorn.

Chapter VII

The Final Confrontation

Lately, Momakase had gotten lazy and resorted to tranquilizing darts. So Wasabi missed most of what happened prior to hearing her voice.

"Time to wake up, darling." Momakase reached for his shorts.

A hot electric spark jumped from the fabric to her hand and she jumped back, rubbing her arm. Her entire body began to twitch.

"Got you!" Hiro said. They surrounded her and Baymax pinioned her arms. It was surprisingly easy. At first it looked like she was having some kind of epileptic seizure, but it quickly calmed down.

"Now!" Go Go said. "You are going to take us to Obake. Before we haul him off to jail, I think we all have a little something that we would like to say to both of you.

"You have manipulated us! You have played with our emotions. You have up-ended our lives. You have used us like puppets in your sick and twisted fantasy games. Everyone...just like we practiced...all together now..."

_"Thank you!_" They said, in a sing-song chorus.

"Why, my darlings," Momakase drawled. "You're welcome...welcome...welcome...welcome..."

There was a pop and a fizz and entire lower jaw of the lifelike machine broke off and fell to the floor.

"_Whoooooa!_" Fred said. "Momakase was an android this whole time? I did _not_ see that coming!"

"Fred!" Wasabi said. "Trust me, buddy. That woman was _noooo_ android."

#

In the still of the night, in the city of San Fransokyo - the City of Love - two souls united as one. One was knowing and experienced - the other eager and willing.

"Honey Lemon!" A voice broke the silence. "You lied to me! You are a dirty, rotten, no-good liar!"

"I am not Go Go." The other voice said, sweetly. "I don't tell the truth all of the time. A girl gets to keep secrets about some things."

A second later: "Wasabi? Did you say something?"

"No."

"For a second there, I thought I heard the strangest voice in my head."

"What kind of voice?"

"She sounded British. She said: take it easy, darling, and relax. He knows what he is doing. This is going to be fun!"

"_Whooooa!_" Wasabi said. "It just happened to me, too. But it was a guy's voice."

"What did he say?" Honey Lemon asked, curiously.

"Just three words. He said: t_hat's my girl!_"

The End


End file.
